Malevolence&colon; The Sword of Ahkranox -- A Survival Guide

The world of Malevolence: The Sword of Ahkranoxis full of dangers, monsters and traps. The game is intentionally challenging, and surviving is not going to be easy -- as you may already know.

Getting out of dungeons alive is sometimes tricky, while you can keep getting bludgeoned to death by Minotaurs and Ogres (oh, what fun). But don't fret! Follow this guide, and you will find yourself thriving in the world of Ahkranox in no time!

Understanding Your Surroundings

Upon starting a new game in Malevolence, you are a completely new being. You are no legendary godlike being or a battle-hardened hero. Instead, you're just a confused individual known as the Chosen.

Diving straight into the first dungeon you come across, aiming to rid it of its monstrosities and treasures, is not a good idea. You will most likely end up as some creatures human stew (in fact, it's certain that you will).

So, the first thing you must do is set your bearings. As laid out in our Getting Started Guide, you will always end up by a town when teleported, or if you choose to stay where you are, the town of Eddya-Anics Holdfast is only a short walk away.

But for most players, Eddya-Anics Holdfast will be their base of operations, at least to begin with. Here is where you will buy and sell your goods, get your first quests and most importantly, teleport back to when using a dungeon teleporter or recall medallion.

Note: You won't have much in the way of gold at this point in the game, so buying better equipment is out of the question for now.

What you do need to do is explore the wilderness. There you can find all forms of treasures scattered around. You'll also discover the many locations that surround you, such a towns, dungeons, farms and guard towers, all of which will automatically be marked on your map as you discover them.

The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors

Rule number one of exploring the wilderness: Do NOT go out at night. Monsters roam the wilderness at night, looking for the unaware and unprepared. At the beginning of the game, you should only adventure during the day. Don't wander too far from town as if it starts to get dark, you can return before the monsters begin to appear.

Should you find any farms or guard towers, they will offer you a place to stay for the night, should you need it. Farms will also reveal some of the local areas to you if you ask them, which is great for revealing dungeons, other farms, guard towers and towns nearby.

Do a Little Searching -- Loot is Your Friend

You should also aim to find some dungeons in this early part of the game. Sometimes outside of them, especially tombs, you will find vases. They often contain loot. And although it often doesn't seem like much, it is for a new character.

You will sometimes find a symbol on your map that looks like a "C." This is often a hidden treasure contained within a rock or tree stump. You can also find the likes of abandoned camps, wagons, corpses and burned down houses in your travels, which will help you survive. All of them contain items that you can either use or sell to get a bit of gold.

Sometimes, however, the wilderness just won't give you enough to really get you started. If this is the case, you must use the more dangerous, but at times rewarding, option B...

Dungeon Hopping

This is a method of exploring where you will move from dungeon to dungeon, getting whatever loot you possibly can before needing to leave. If you find yourself in a desert area, dungeon hopping is practically a must because there is little civilization in these areas and even fewer loot spots.

However, the best thing about using this method of exploration is that you will sometimes get lucky and find yourself in a one-floor dungeon. Finding such a dungeon means you will find yourself an End of Level Chest without the difficulty of descending deep into a dungeon.

While a one-floor dungeon End of Level Chest won't contain a huge amount of quality equipment, it will nevertheless contain items of value. Be it a good piece of armor or weapon or recall medallions, there will be something of use.

Note: Recall Medallions fetch a hefty price, so hold on to them. Just watch out for the boss monster guarding the chest!

If you are playing a permadeath character, you may also find player corpses. These are the remains of other permadeath characters. You will be able to loot them of some of the items they had in their possession upon death.

And if you find yourself against a powerful enemy in your newest dungeon, simply make your way to the exit and head to the next dungeon. It may take a while to get enough loot to sell and buy some equipment, but sometimes running is wiser than fighting.

But if you DO fight ...

This is How to Survive a Dungeon

You have spent all this time, preparing for this moment. Now all you have to do is survive. If you are at a dungeon to complete a cleanse quest, it shouldn't contain too many floors, perhaps around two or three (four at most). You will have to kill everything in the dungeon to complete the quest.

Note: If you are on a Cleansing Quest, you will have to kill everything in the dungeon to complete the quest.

If you are not on a quest and just entering a random dungeon, there is no telling how many floors it will have. It could be one or it could be as many ten. Just remember that the further down into a dungeon you go, the more powerful the enemies will become.

To help you survive, there are a few tactics to keep in mind while in a dungeon. The first and most important is to have an escape plan. If you have a plan, and things begin to turn sour, you can return to the exit. There are two ways of escaping...

The first is to keep a clear route between you and the exit. Kill all enemies in the route and disarm all traps along the way to prevent falling into them. If in a tomb, be careful not to stare at the statues because if their gaze meets yours, they will poison you.

The second way of escaping is to use a recall medallion, should you have one. It will bring you back to the last town you visited.

The next tip is to keep a torch lit. While it isn't essential to have a torch lit constantly, it does make it easier to spot enemies in the distance. If you are having difficulty taking on Minotaurs or Ogres, it is best if you can spot and avoid them before they see and pursue you.

Our third tip is to be conservative with your potions. As you progress through a dungeon, you will begin to realize how many hits it takes to kill each monster type. This is essential for choosing what potions to use when.

Don't waste a large potion on a Goblin that you will kill in one or two hits. Use a small one instead. This will save your bigger potions for when facing off against tougher enemies like Ogres.

Note: Most of all, don't fight enemies you feel you can't defeat. You will use potions that you otherwise wouldn't before having to run.

Our final tip is to use the environment to your advantage. If you find a single tile room with a gate, you can enter it and rest without ever being woken up by an enemy. This is because there is no room for an enemy to interrupt you. Rooms with pillars are also extremely useful. When running from an enemy, they will always follow behind you.

Note: If an enemy is blocking your way, make your way to a room with a pillar. If you move around it, the monster will stay behind you, giving you access to the route they were originally blocking. Just make sure you don't get yourself backed into a corner!

May the Sword Watch Over You, Chosen.

And that is everything you need to survive in the world of Ahkranox. From starting with barely anything to getting your first equipment to surviving your first dungeon. If you have followed this guide, you will find yourself battering the crap out of monsters, as opposed to them doing it to you. You can even use these tips to fight monster outside of dungeons!

May the sword watch over you, Chosen and the best of luck to you in the world of Ahkranox!

Have any other tips to surviving the harsh world of Ahkranox? Let us know in the comments below!